You know your parent needs help at home, but figuring out what kind of help can be confusing. Mom may be struggling with bathing and preparing meals, while Dad has recently returned home after surgery and has more complex health needs. Does that mean you need a caregiver, a nurse, or some combination of support? Understanding the difference between everyday home care and on-call nurses can make it easier to determine what questions to ask as you plan for your loved one.
The answer often comes down to one important distinction: Is your parent primarily having difficulty with everyday activities, or do they have needs that require nursing skills?
Everyday Help and Nursing Care Are Different
A senior doesn't necessarily need nursing care simply because they need significant help at home.
Many older adults need assistance because daily activities have become harder. Your parent may no longer feel comfortable showering alone. Standing long enough to prepare dinner may be exhausting. Grocery shopping, housekeeping, dressing, or getting around the house may require more effort than it once did.
These are everyday care needs.
A caregiver can provide practical assistance that helps an older adult continue living at home. Mom’s Home Care offers non-medical home care services that include companionship, meal preparation, medication reminders, housekeeping, errands and shopping, bathing, dressing and grooming, and other personal care.
Nursing services serve a different purpose. They become relevant when a loved one's needs involve skilled healthcare tasks, assessments, or monitoring that fall beyond ordinary non-medical assistance.
Start With What Your Parent Actually Needs
Families sometimes begin their search by looking for a particular type of professional. It can be more useful to start by making a list of what is actually becoming difficult.
Think through an ordinary day with your parent.
Are the biggest problems occurring when Mom gets dressed, prepares meals, or tries to keep up with the house? Is Dad doing fairly well with daily activities but dealing with healthcare needs following surgery or an illness?
Everyday needs that may point toward caregiver assistance can include:
- Help with bathing, dressing, and grooming
- Meal preparation and assistance with everyday routines
- Light housekeeping and help keeping the home manageable
- Shopping and errands
- Companionship and regular interaction
- Medication reminders
- Assistance moving through normal daily activities
When these are the primary concerns, non-medical home care may provide the type of assistance the family has been looking for.
When Nursing-Level Needs Enter the Picture
Now consider a different situation.
Suppose your parent recently underwent surgery and returned home with a wound requiring care. Perhaps there are health changes that need skilled assessment, or your loved one requires catheter, respiratory, or colostomy care.
Those needs are very different from preparing lunch or helping someone get dressed.
Mom’s Home Care explains that higher levels of nursing care are available through different levels of trained professionals and affiliations with healthcare organizations. Services listed on its on-call nursing page include pre-operative and post-operative care, wound care, skilled nursing assessments, catheter care, respiratory care, colostomy care, bowel program supervision, and certain medication administration. The company also states that Registered Nurses can be called in when necessary.
This is where on-call nurses may become part of the conversation.
Your Parent May Need Both Types of Support
One of the biggest misconceptions families can have is assuming they must choose between a caregiver and nursing support.
A senior's needs don't always fit neatly into one category.
Dad might require nursing assistance for a specific healthcare need while also struggling to shower, prepare meals, do laundry, and keep up with the house. Mom may need substantial help with daily living but only occasional access to a higher level of nursing care.
That is why looking at the whole picture is important.
Your parent's healthcare providers can help you understand their medical and nursing needs, particularly following hospitalization, surgery, or a significant health change. At the same time, your family can consider what happens during all the hours surrounding those healthcare needs.
Ask yourself:
- Can my parent safely manage bathing and personal care?
- Are regular meals being prepared and eaten?
- Is the house becoming difficult for them to maintain?
- Do they need companionship or more regular supervision?
- Are there skilled healthcare tasks that require an appropriately trained professional?
- Has a doctor or discharge team provided instructions for nursing or other professional services at home?
These questions can reveal that the real care plan may involve more than one type of assistance.
Needs Can Change Over Time
The type of support your parent needs today may not be the type they need six months from now.
A senior recovering from surgery may initially have more extensive healthcare and daily assistance needs. As recovery progresses, some of that support may decrease. Another senior may begin with a few hours of help around the house and eventually require more assistance with personal care.
Changes don't necessarily happen all at once.
That's another reason to keep evaluating how your parent is actually managing rather than relying on the care plan that worked months ago.
Mom’s Home Care identifies non-medical in-home care as its specialty while also maintaining affiliations with healthcare organizations and professionals, including physical therapists, occupational therapists, registered dietitians, mobile physicians, speech therapists, and licensed clinical social workers.
Finding the Right Level of Help
If you're trying to arrange care for a parent, you don't need to know every professional title before you begin asking questions.
Start with Mom or Dad.
What are they struggling to do? What are they still comfortable handling independently? Which needs are related to ordinary daily living, and which involve healthcare services that require a trained professional?
A caregiver may be exactly what your parent needs for daily support. In other circumstances, on-call nurses or another healthcare professional may be appropriate. Some families may need both.
Mom’s Home Care can help families explore non-medical home care while providing access to higher levels of care when needed through its network and affiliations. Understanding the distinction gives you a better starting point for building support around what your parent actually needs—not simply choosing a service because its name sounds right.
If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring On Call Nurses in Culver City, CA, please call Mom's Home Care and talk to our friendly, knowledgeable staff. Our number is 323-244-4789.
